This invention relates to infant incubators, and more particularly to a means of adjusting the angular position of the bed or support on which the infant lies.
Infant incubators have, of course, had a variety of means to adjust the tilt angle at which the infant is positioned. In general, it is desirable that the means of adjusting the tilt position of the infant be external of the incubator so that the special environment created for the infant is not disturbed. In addition, the tilt mechanism should be capable of adjusting the tilt angle in either direction, that is, to externally place the infant in a head raised or head lowered position.
A further desirable feature is that the tilt mechanism should preferably operate with a minimum of abrupt motion to the infant so as not to startle the infant when moving to a different position. Thus, the motion needs to be carried out as smoothly as possible.
Present tilt mechanisms do operate external of the infant compartment and are adjustable by a pair of handles that can be rotated to raise or lower either end of the infant support, however, one of the difficulties with the adjustment of the present system is that no intermediate positioning is possible and a very abrupt movement is effected when the infant support is taken out of its high position.
That is, one of the present tilt mechanism provides bent rods that underlie the infant support and which are rotated to raise the rods and thus raise the infant support. At the top position, the rods are locked in position by means of a locking projection over which the rods must ride to engage and disengage the infant support from that respective top position. Therefore, to lower that end of the infant bed, from its top position considerable twisting force must be applied to the rod to override the projection. Typically, that excess force causes a rapid extremely abrupt movement downwardly when the rod has overridden the projection and the infant is startled. In addition, since there are no intermediate positions, if the adjusting handle is inadvertently released at any time intermediate the lower most position and the top position, the infant support will descend rapidly all the way down to its horizontal position, thus again stressing the infant.